Protecting charity data in the face of disasters
Modern charities are in possession of large amounts of data. Employees, volunteers, beneficiaries and donors all spend time engaging with the charity, sharing their personal data with the it.
Charities are no different from a large corporation or a small business in this regard – they are responsible for a large amount of personal and professional data, both from their user base and employees/volunteers/donors.
Therefore, in practical terms, just like any other organisation, they need to take precautionary steps to keep this data safe in the event of disaster. From catastrophic weather affecting data centres, to hackers looking to breach your infrastructure security and wipe or steal your records, data disasters can happen at any time with devastating consequences.
Donors could have their bank details stolen, beneficiaries’ contact details could be wiped (losing out on welfare from the charity) and the internal documents of a charity(marketing collateral, administrative files etc.) could be left vulnerable or missing.
Disasters like this can seriously impact the trust between a charity and its donors, the ability of the charity to perform its tasks and the ongoing momentum of the organisation. Clearly, these outcomes are far from ideal.
The problem of data loss is so severe that regulatory bodies are taking steps to ensure that the sector has the capability to manage and protect sensitive information. The Charity Commission has set out a standard that requires charities to meet certain criteria when it comes to systems of risk management - including data backup and disaster recovery.
Unless charities meet these expectations, they can expect to face large fines or other reprimands for non-compliance. Indeed, the Information commissioner has shown no mercy to charities it deemed failing in data protection care, with some heavy fines imposed.
With pressure on charities to protect the data they are responsible for, what are some of the major solutions available? Modern technological advancements have given new strategies to charities for managing the risks they face. Cost effective and robust data backup and protection strategies have enabled charities to develop strong and sophisticated disaster recovery plans to protect their organisations and personnel in the face of catastrophe.
Backup data centres
When using physical data centres, charities are continually facing the danger of their systems becoming damaged or otherwise unusable. Bad weather, power surges or poor maintenance can leave a data centre, containing important information for a charity, unusable. This is obviously bad news.
One way to protect against this is to have more than one data centre, both storing the same information. If they are both in separate enough locations, should the worst come to pass, it is likely that one data centre will still be usable, enabling the charity to continue its operations.
Providing that the locations of the data centres face different risks (i.e., if one is in an area with the possibility of flooding the other should not be), this is a well-worn method for maintaining strong protection against data disasters.
However, for charities this is a difficult strategy to recommend. Data centres are expensive both to buy and maintain. For charities with their tight controls on expenditure, justifying additional data centres bought in case of system failure isn’t usually possible.
Not directly contributing to a charity’s output, such a purchase could also detract from the impact of a charity’s work during the purchase period. Not only that, but as a precautionary measure they are not failsafe – what if disaster strikes in both locations rather than just one?
Backup storage on separate media
A far cheaper alternative to additional data centres is to ensure that data is backed up on separate media such as hard drives, SSDs, DVDs, memory sticks or similar.
Without the high costs of a physical data centre, media such as this can store sensitive or important information in case of emergency or calamity. If disaster strikes, data can be re-uploaded onto a new data centre and enable a charity to continue functioning if the worst should happen.
Unfortunately, as with a secondary data centre, this solution is far from perfect. While in the short term this method is less expensive than a whole physical data centre, there can be long term costs involved as media becomes outdated or is no longer supported on modern hardware.
A charity would need to continually update its backup media, which could lead to high long term costs. And if a charity overlooks this need to update its backup media, it could be left unable to use such devices in the future, with dire consequences.
Boston Computing found that in 2014, 93% of companies that could not properly recover their data within 10 days or more due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year. Charities will be no different.
Aside from the need to update your backup media, this solution raises another problem – what would happen if your backup media were lost, stolen or ended up in the wrong hands? The contact information, financial details or other personal data about donors, beneficiaries, volunteers or employees would be insecure and in danger of exploitation.
Secure cloud storage solutions
In light of this, the widespread use of cloud computing technologies can help alleviate the financial pressures and responsibilities of backing up physical data centres, media or other on-site storage devices. Through a third party cloud services provider, charities can store their IT data within an off-premises data centre to be accessed online.
This removes the burden on a charity's finances and conscience in purchasing and maintaining on-site facilities. Cloud providers can also offer responsive disaster recovery plans, enabling a charity to get back on its feet efficiently if the worst should happen.
For some charities, utilising the cloud in order to store sensitive data might be a major concern. This is a common feeling within charities, with research suggesting that security concerns are a primary stumbling block to charities embracing the cloud.
However, in most cases cloud service providers have the capacity to employ very high levels of security protocols around their clients’ data, protecting them from both hacking attacks and natural disasters.
In fact, an organisation would need to invest significant funds in order to match the safety of many providers’ measures. Employing the services of a cloud provider could prove a cost effective and secure solution for charities looking for a strong data protection and recovery plan.
For today's charities, data security is a growing priority. It is vital for charities to keep their data secure and quickly recoverable in case of a disaster. While traditional protection and recovery methods, i.e. on-site data centres or backup media, are expensive and leave the charity shouldering significant risks and responsibilities, newer solutions from cloud service providers are a great way forward for a charity’s disaster recovery plan.
